Silverton Mountain hit epic on the stoke-meter Saturday, with more than three feet of wind-sifted powder and all roads into town closed. After the daylong plundering, CDOT kindly opened up one pass out of town. But it was the wrong pass for a reporter hoping to get to the Ouray Ice Festival.

Speeds over Coal Bank and Molas passes into Durango rarely topped 15 mph. That left conservative estimates on the drive time from Silverton to Ouray somewhere close to seven hours. To end up less than 20 miles from where I started. A drive like that can taint even the purest powder memories.

But there it was, some 10 miles west of DurangoÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s antique train depot and 10 miles east of Mesa VerdeÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s very antique housing development, a venerable beacon of light promising to rekindle the cold smoke stoke: Ski Hesperus.

Low clouds bounced the yellow haze from trailside lights back onto 16 inches of powdery bliss at ColoradoÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s most overlooked ski area. Maybe a dozen skiers were out and most of them were sticking to the lowest angle shots. Nighttime powder at Hesperus! My pal Campo Ã¢â‚¬â€œ one of the strongest skiers I know – has long praised the virtue of this southern Colorado gem with tales of well-preserved snow, steep shots and the most spectacular sunsets in all of Colorado skidom. On clear days, you can see the Utah desert on the horizon. Hesperus also offers the cheapest lift tickets in the state. A mere $24 gets you turns from dusk to 9 p.m. Their double chair actually rolls slower than SilvertonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s on granny speed, so youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll need all four hours to get your sweat on.

Far skiersÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ right a well-lit trail had seen virtually no traffic, offering in-your-face shots of sugary goodness. Far skiersÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ left was unlit, but the cloud cover radiated a glow that illuminated silly-fun, double-fall line terrain. In between were several more glowing runs. A small terrain park Ã¢â‚¬â€œ with one of the most unusual park features in the state: a VW bug Ã¢â‚¬â€œ hosted a few boarders. Ã‚Â

Longtime owner Jim Pitcher leaned on the window ledge of the warm base lodge, glancing between the battling Saints inside and a few fathers outside teaching their kids how to tackle the deep stuff. HeÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s been trying to sell his friendly old hill for a few years. HeÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s had some interest in the 44-year-old hill.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“But,Ã¢â‚¬? he said, looking at out his beloved gem, Ã¢â‚¬Å“it has to be the right person. This place is too special.Ã¢â‚¬?